


Where Weary Rest

by ForgottenChesire



Series: Christmas 2020 [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Afterlife, Forgiveness, Gen, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Some angst, reconnecting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:48:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28323369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ForgottenChesire/pseuds/ForgottenChesire
Summary: Severus’s death.It plays on repeat. Death is not cruel but it is not kind either. Neutral and plain. It shows what is needed or what is wanted. She wonders which is fueling this. Sits down next Severus. He leans into her, like the child he appears to be.In the time being shown to them they watch Severus die. They watch as the snake falls down from her cage. They watch as Severus gifts Harry his memories.“Was it selfish of me? To want him to know you like I did?”“No,” James answers for her. She looks over to her husband who is looking down at Snape.“You gave him what none except maybe Petunia could have.”
Relationships: Lily Evans Potter & Severus Snape
Series: Christmas 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2074215
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	Where Weary Rest

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas!~ So um... I really hope you like this. I loved writing it and think it fits the prompt you gave me.

She spots him first. Tall and dark he slowly appears in the mist. Even though years have passed, sixteen long years she knows the form of her best friend. Lily Potter nee Evans runs. She runs to him like one of Hagrid’s beasts is on her tail. And in the ever looming grey expanse of death the slap she gives Severus Snape echoes. Hand stinging in time with her eyes she steps back. Takes in the face of the man in front of her. He’s aged more than sixteen years should have aged him. Looks haunted with deep dark bags under darker eyes. But possibly most damning of all is the lack of shock on his face. Even as he raises a trembling hand to touch the now red skin. James puts a hand on her shoulder. Comforting. Grounding. Silently reminding her of conversations they’ve had. And, oh, have they had conversations. Severus opens his mouth, closes it, starts to hunch into himself like the small child that she remembers. Lily moves, arms pulling him into a tight hug. Cries into his shoulder as she tries to melt into him.

“I’m so mad at you,” she whispers. And she  _ is.  _ So mad for so many reasons.

“I’m sorry.”

James chuckles and she feels Severus’s back start to stiffen. His body shakes. And then it goes still.

“You’re not as sorry as Dumbledore is right now or how sorry Lils sister is going to be when she dies,” her husband says. He’s aiming for friendly. Willing to try and make friends. Make amends.

She pulls back, not letting Severus go, moving one hand to cup his face.

“I’ve missed you.”

“And I you.”

* * *

It’s later. Time passing differently here than in the land of the living. The mist twisting and writhing into shapes. Trees and tall flowers. A pond in which Severus stares into. They haven’t talked yet. Not really. Not since Severus had fled from her, from the others.

Peter had done the same. Ran from them. From forgiveness and redemption.

Severus looks up at her. Younger but not yet there. Not yet healed. She wonders if he’ll leave. Go further on in like her parents did. Or will he wait with her. With them.

“You fucked up.”

Blunt. To the point. James told her to be gentle. To be kind. And she will. After that. Severus nods his head. Looks down at the world that moves faster and slower all at once, reflected in the pool his desire has made. She sees her darling boy. Sees him going to his death with shades that mimic her. Urging him on.

“I kept him safe,” Severus offers. 

“You terrorized him,” she counters.

The living world freezes. Twists as the mist covers it up. Opens revealing a new image of the past.

“You terrorized children, Severus. You became-“

“What I hated most. Dumbledore said I couldn’t… I did what I thought I had to.”

She sits down next to him.

“Do you regret it?”

“No.”

Her hands clench.

“Yes.”

A long fingered hand rests on the grass that is not grass.

“I regret what I became. I regret being cruel to those who had done nothing but live when I wished I was dead and you alive. I regret that I hurt you. But that regret is tempered by the fact that Harry lives. That he breathes and that Voldemort never suspected me until the end when it was too late.”

She covers his hand with hers.

“Do you think I can change?” He asks her. They watch as her nephew hugs Harry, as he talks back to his father. No longer the spoiled brat.

“We all can.”

The image changes. Shows Petunia instead of Harry. Shows her sister laughing and hugging a Lily that still breathes and lives. Loving. Caring.

“For better or worse, we all change.”

* * *

He’s changed again when she finds him again. Young. Younger than her. In this place age has no meaning. You’re not forced to stay the age you died. He’s about the same age as the Weasley boy.

“I called you mudblood.”

“You did.”

“Lucius talked to me afterward. Offered me protection. Friends.”

She snorts. Lucius doesn’t have friends.

“I’m sorry.”

This time when he says it, because he had come to her back then, she believes him. She hugs him.

“James apologized to me. For his part of terrorizing me. Of reminding me of home.”

Lily says nothing but she smiles. Smiles and tries not to weep at the soft disbelief in his voice.

* * *

Somehow they always end up at the beach. This time James is sitting next to Severus. The once Potions Master is a child with too old eyes. He’s making daisy chains as he watches the mist water swirl.

As she gets closer she sees what they see. She sees why James looks close to yanking Severus away like he did to Harry once when their son got too close to the fireplace.

Severus’s death.

It plays on repeat. Death is not cruel but it is not kind either. Neutral and plain. It shows what is needed or what is wanted. She wonders which is fueling this. Sits down next Severus. He leans into her, like the child he appears to be. 

In the time being shown to them they watch Severus die. They watch as the snake falls down from her cage. They watch as Severus gifts Harry his memories. 

“Was it selfish of me? To want him to know you like I did?”

“No,” James answers for her. She looks over to her husband who is looking down at Snape.

“You gave him what none except maybe Petunia could have.”

Severus turns back to the pond that isn’t. And the scene replays his death once again. Together she and James wrap their arms around Severus.

“I forgive you.”

“What?”

“I forgive you, Severus. For calling me mudblood. For following Lucius down a dark path I could not follow. For how you kept our son from dying. For dying. All of it. I forgive you.”

They hold him while he cries and the pond finally shows something pleasant. Her boy. Alive. Defeating Voldemort. He’s alive and the war is over.

**Author's Note:**

> This story is part of the [LLF Comment Project](https://longlivefeedback.tumblr.com/llfcommentproject), which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites and appreciates feedback, including:  
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